Victoria

Small businesses lead the way to electronic settlements

Two conveyancers explain that electronic settlements are the future of the conveyancing industry

In April 2015 Melbourne based lawyer Nick Karolidis of Karolidis & Co and conveyancing counterparty Mary Commisso of Indeed Convey successfully completed their first online settlements.

It was time to go digital

Knowing that the four major banks were using PEXA helped Karolidis & Co decide to go electronic. “I was comfortable that the platform had been fully developed and it was now worth getting involved. We were confident in the security of the platform and ready to start transacting online,” said Nick.

Creating a competitive advantage and providing clients with a reduced risk of error and delay was another key factor. “From a business perspective I see this as a great opportunity. PEXA will help us stand out, save costs by avoiding attendance at settlement and improve customer service overall”.

Indeed Convey was kept informed by its peak professional body, the Australian Institute of Conveyancers (AIC VIC). “The AIC had been encouraging me to get ready for electronic settlements,” said Mary. “They’ve been a great help”.

Reducing risk of delay and stress for clients

Nick invited Mary via the PEXA invitation function and followed up with a phone call. “It was the first transaction for both parties. I said to Mary let’s work together and complete our first electronic settlement”. The two parties were able to guide and support each other through the transaction,” added Nick.

Karolidis & Co’s client was a first home buyer. Reducing the risk of delay and failure at settlement was key as they had a lot of furniture and deliveries arranged. “I understood our client’s nerves given my family purchased a few years ago. It was nice to make the odds favourable,” added Nick.

By using PEXA the buyer’s bank didn’t draw on all stamp duty funds therefore the first home buyers weren’t waiting on their rebate.

Indeed Convey were representing a repeat client. “I explained to the vendor that property settlements are going electronic moving forward. They were very happy with the service,” said Mary.

Intuitive navigation

Both parties were able to navigate intuitively within the system. They were able to use the Workspace task list to guide them and view the progress of all parties without having to chase emails or wait in phone queues.

“I was able to login at any time and see things were going well. I was updated via the to-do list and able to instantly communicate with all parties via PEXA,” confirmed Nick.

The future is electronic

Both businesses confirmed that electronic settlements are the future of the conveyancing industry.

“It streamlined the process and everything just transacted at settlement! I believe this will become the normal process,” concluded Nick.

Mary reaffirmed, “using PEXA will be more efficient. We avoided ringing the bank multiple times, call queues and travelling in to the city for settlement”.